Home for the Holidays
by AngelxofxAlchemy
Summary: Christmas has rolled around once more and Winry is all alone...or is she?
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for not updating ****Broken Hearted Disease ****in a while. I promise, after this story, the chapters will come flooding in. I have them written, I just have to post them. Anyway, on with this story.**

**I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the Characters **

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**Home For the Holidays**

The snow blanketed over the once green hills of Risembool as December was coming to an end. Christmas was only a few days away and Winry would be spending it with her grandmother.

She smiled sadly at the thought of it. She really did enjoy the time that she spent with Granny Pinako, but it was one of the many Christmas's that Ed and AL wouldn't be home. Gift exchanging was extremely short and the dinner that they ate was nothing more than what they usually ate.

The chilling wind sent shivers through the teenage girl's frame as she creaked the door open, seeing the conditions that her Granny would have to face as she went to town to get a few parts that were delivered. Winry had insisted on going for her, but Pinako wouldn't have it, saying that it wasn't all that bad and Winry had to stay behind to shovel the walk a bit anyway so that any customers that came in for an emergency visit could get there easily.

She closed the door to prevent letting the heat out of the house. Just as she turned around, her Grandmother was there putting her coat on.

"Grandma, just let me do this for you," she pleaded, stepping in front of the door slightly. Pinako gave her a stern look before shaking her head and thrusting the shovel at her that had been leaning against the wall. Winry sighed and put her coat on as well, setting the shovel down momentarily.

"I'll be back in an hour or so," the old woman told Winry, stepping outside with her following. With that, Pinako was off.

Winry visibly slumped over, leaning on the shovel that was wedged into the snow that was almost a foot deep. She had never seen this much snow in her quaint rural town. It was so beautiful, but even that site couldn't do anything to cheer her up. Closing her eyes for a moment, she heaved a sigh and began her work. There was quite a walkway to be shoveled.

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**There's the first chapter! I'm posting more tonight, no worries. I hope to have it done by tomorrow. Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I promise that the chapters will be coming much quicker, the holidays just made everything so hectic! I hope you all didn't give up on me.**

**I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters.**

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"You two have shit for brains!" The Colonel's shouts rang throughout the hospital room. The young man that he was directing it towards simply ignored him, continuing to bundle up. It had begun to get dark and a blizzard had set in a few days ago and had been going non stop, making travel all but impossible. Christmas Eve had arrived.

"Yeah, yeah," groaned the young, rebellious alchemist. "We'll be fine, it's no worse than Briggs." He turned to face Colonel Mustang with a defiant glare.

"Have you forgotten that both of you are barely fit to walk, let alone travel in this weather?! It's not like the trains are even running." He squeezed his hands shut, hurting the small wounds that occupied each of them. It strained his eyes a bit to glare, but he found the strength to do so anyway.

"Well, I highly doubt that you're yelling is helping," his Lieutenant informed him in a cool voice, "but he is right Ed." Hawkeye's eyes had a rare motherly look to them as she advised them to stay as well. Edward shook his head.

"Al and I both talked about this, and we both want to go home tonight, hell or high water." Once Ed had made his mind up about something, it was decided. He was as stubborn as a mule, and could indeed be a real jackass if he was determined.

"Fine," grumbled the Colonel, folding his arms childishly. "When you two get yourselves killed, don't come crying to me." Ed rolled his eyes dramatically and gave Roy a sarcastic salute. Al was waiting outside the door for his brother and stifled a chuckle when his older brother flipped their superior the bird behind his back.

A few moments later, Roy and Riza heard the roar of an engine. Roy's eyes widened as he rushed to the window, turning to Riza before opening the blinds.

"You don't think," he began. Riza merely shrugged, which made Roy pull the string to the blinds to reveal Ed and Al. Only, they were getting into a car, Ed in the driver's seat. "Damn it, Fullmetal."

The car drove off into the night, leaving imprints in the perfect fresh fallen snow.

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**I know, another short chapter! Don't be too mad though, I have to split it up like this to make it more dramatic!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it's taken me so long to get more of this story up; the holidays are a crazy time! I vow to have this done by new years though! Enjoy!**

**I don't own FMA or anything related to it…**

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Turning the key in the ignition, Ed pulled the seat belt over himself and clicked it into place. He turned to his right to make sure Al had done the same before he familiarized himself with the car.

"Brother," the younger Elric interjected, "you don't even know how to drive." He was rather worried, and with good reason. This weather wasn't good for even the most experienced driver, let alone to start driving in.

"Relax," Ed replied, shrugging his shoulders lazily. "All you have to do is shift gears and step on the gas. It's not rocket science." Al inwardly hoped that he knew how the break worked as well. He held onto the passenger's seat as if it were a lifeline.

"At least there's hardly anyone else on the road," Al mumbled as he gazed out the window. Ed shifted into drive and stepped on the gas lightly to try out the power. After it jerked forward, he decided that he needed to press a bit lighter to prevent that. Doing so, the car moved forward at a much steadier pace, calming Al's nerves slightly.

Once he was on the road, Ed hastened his speed. In his mind, the faster they got home the better and the less time that they would be out in the blizzard. He mentally congratulated himself on being able to see over the steering wheel. He had finally gotten taller.

After they had been driving for about 45 minutes, still having a good 30 minutes before they reached Risembool, Ed's concentration was beginning to falter. It was becoming more and more difficult to see the road in front of him and he was leaning forward with his eyes squinted to avoid running into a tree.

"Damn it," he mumbled, "it will be next Christmas before we get home." Al merely ignored him, staring out the window to make sure that they were still close enough to civilization in case they had to stop at an inn. He brought his attention forward to see the quickly falling white flakes that seemed to get bigger as the time passed.

"Brother, look out!" Al suddenly screamed. There was someone in the road, and after a moment Ed saw it as well.

"Shit!" Ed screamed, jerking the wheel sharply to the right. Unfortunately, the slick, nearly frozen snow sent their car flying. Ed tried to stop the skid, but being the inexperienced driver that he was, it was to no avail. After seeing the scenery fly by them a few times as the car did a 180, the front of it hit a light pole, thankfully not at full speed. The broken glass was at a minimum, but the hood had smoke floating above it with no indication of it stopping.

Al held his head, mostly out of frustration. "Are you okay, Brother?" he asked wearily. He looked to his brother and nearly had to keep from laughing. Ed's eyes were as big as saucers and his hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that it might have snapped in two.

"Yeah," he replied, nodding weakly and prying his fingers off the wheel. After taking a shaking breath, he got out of the car and went to see what they had almost hit. "Hey!" he yelled, trying to get the attention of the person who was now on the sidewalk, appearing to be staring at the car in awe. "What the hell were you thinking, walking in the middle of the road like that?! I couldn't see a damn thing, I almost hit you!" Seeing that the figure wasn't responding, Ed stomped toward them with a low growl.

"Brother," Al scolded, getting out of the car and following. "Brother, we almost hit them, shouldn't you be apologizing?" Al was ignored however as Ed closed the space between the mysterious man and himself.

"Now," Ed began in an authoritative tone, "you owe us a ride." The figure stared at him, almost incredulously. After a moment, he began to chuckle. Feeling like he was being under minded, Ed grabbed the man's shirt collar. "I mean it, buddy!"

This was when the man spoke. "You haven't changed a bit, Ed," he laughed, not caring about the threatening gesture. Ed's eyes were even wider than they had been after the crash.

"No way," he mumbled, "there's no way in hell," he paused, letting the man go for a moment. After mentally playing ping pong with the idea in his head, he pulled the man's jacket hood back, revealing who it was. The elder Elric couldn't speak, he couldn't move. He could barely form a full thought within his head.

Al had made his way as well. "Brother, what's wrong now? Are you done hassling the man that you nearly ran over or-"he paused, seeing the man's face as well. The silence dragged on for another moment or so before Ed was once again able to use his voice.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes."

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**I don't know, is there anything I can really say? In the next chapter, you'll find out why Hughes is alive, and I promise, it will all make sense. This isn't a Christmas miracle, there's logic to back it up!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! I know many of you are either extremely confused or angry with me for bringing a seemingly dead character back to life. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is based in the mangaverse , not the anime. Also, I'm sorry that I didn't meet my deadline for before new years, but I hope you're all still in the Holiday spirit!**

**I don't own FMA**

**PLEASE ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**

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Winry stood next to the front window, leaning against the wall and watching as the snow neared records for inches. It hadn't stopped at all, and her Grandmother hadn't called her as of yet. Needless to say, she was beginning to get worried.

Thankfully, as if answering her prayers, the phone rang. When she picked it up, she was thrilled to her Pinako's voice.

"Hello dear," she greeted, a bit of stress in her tone, "I'm sorry for not calling sooner, we can barely get a call through. The snow even cut out the power a few times. I," she paused, "I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't think I'll be able to make it home for Christmas."

Winry's expression dropped. She was thankful that her granny couldn't see. "That's alright, I figured as much. We'll just celebrate when you get back," she told her with fake assurance. Now, not only would she be spending Christmas without Ed and Al, but she would be completely alone.

"Alright, there's a roast there, all you have to do is cook it. Try to keep yourself busy," she told her granddaughter, knowing that if Winry wasn't busy, she had time to worry. However, Winry would worry no matter what.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later Granny, stay warm," Winry told her, saying her goodbye before handing up. She let out a frustrated sigh. She wasn't angry with her granny, she was angry at the weather. She knew it was childish and illogical, but it didn't stop her. She gazed at the tree that they had put up two weeks before. The lights were glowing, almost as if they were mocking her. She was beside herself, and she wanted to knock the damn thing over. She went to go unplug the source of her rage, but stopped when she saw what her granny had put on a center branch. The shine of it was what caught her eye, and she picked it up off of the tree. It was a photograph of Ed, Al, and her self when they were young. They all wore Santa hats and large smiles. Ed was in the middle, his arms around her and his younger brother. They all seemed so happy, and as she recalled, it was the last Chistmas that they had shared before Ed and Al's mother had died.

She smiled sadly, stopping herself from crying. She couldn't cry, she told Ed that she wouldn't. Not until they returned with their bodies in tact. She did however put the picture back on the tree and leave it plugged in. Ed and Al were with her in spirit, and that was good enough to get her through the night. Taking a seat on the couch and pulling a nearby blanket over her, she closed her eyes to dream of a happier time.

~*~

The snow continued to fall around the three that stood by the road. Ed's expression hadn't changed and he was barely able to breathe. Al was the first one able to speak.

"Mr. Hughes," he paused, trying to figure out how to word this, "how?" His vocabulary at the time was failing him, shock tends to do that to someone. Hughes smiled softly at the boys.

"Why don't we talk indoors, I've been staying in an apartment building for a while." He turned around on his heel and began walking toward a large, if not somewhat run down, nearby building. After exchanging a look of astonishment, the two boys followed. The inside of the building looked better than the outside thankfully. There was a dark green carpet lining the floor of what seemed to be a lobby and the receptionist was a middle aged woman wearing a red sweater and reading a book that she seemed to be sucked into.

The three men walked to the stairs and up to the third floor. Once they seemed to arrive at their destination, Hughes fished through his pocket, pulling out a key and using it to open the door with a small squeak.

"Excuse the mess, I don't usually have guests," Hughes explained, his tone bittersweet. "It gets a little lonely in hiding." He went to sit on the couch, signaling at a couple of nearby chairs for them. After they took their seats, Hughes began to explain.

"The night I was shot, I knew that if I didn't do something, I was going to die. The one that did it obviously wanted to be sure I was dead, so if I did survive, I knew that I needed to make sure that they thought I was gone." He paused, laying back on the couch and taking in a deep breath. Ed and Al were practically on the edge of their seats, eager to hear how he had pulled this off.

"After the culprit left, I stood up and applied pressure to my wound so that it wouldn't drip and create a trail. Once I got to a hospital, I registered under a fake name and got the treatment I needed. While I was in my room, I got an idea. So, later that night, I snuck into the morgue and found someone that at least halfway fit my description and had died on the operating table recently. Incidentally, he had been shot as well after being mugged. I felt bad for doing it, but I took the body and placed it into a bag. I was still hurt, but I was able to get back to the phone booth using the backdoor to the hospital so that they wouldn't stop me. Once I got there, I took the body out and, I know it sounds disgusting, but I put my clothes on him," he paused for a moment, "along with some of my blood. Then I put my glasses on him, fixed his hair like mine, and that was that. I was dead to the world." He sat back up straight and looked at the two boys. "After that, I waited in hiding for the police to arrive. Once I was sure that they thought it was me, I left and changed my identity. For the first few months, I was absolutely miserable. I barely functioned and all I would do is sit up here, thinking about how I was missing my little girl grow up." He lowered his eyes and clenched his fist. "Eventually, I needed money though, so I got a job at the local bakery." Looking back up at the boys, he smiled. "I was on my way home when you nearly ran me over."

Ed blinked a few times before shaking his head to clear his mind. "Okay, let me get this straight," he began, tilting his head, "you faked your death so that you wouldn't actually die, and you choose to hide out until who knows when?" He was beyond glad that Hughes was alive, but mad as hell that he hadn't been informed.

Hughes shook his head. "I choose to hide to protect my family from whatever was after me. I knew that if I went home, they'd find me and hurt the people I loved the most. I couldn't let that happen, so I had to make this choice." He took his glasses off that were much different from the ones he had used to wear, they were round and much less sleek, and cleaned them with the collar of his shirt. "Now that I see that you two are alive and well, I assume that I can finally go home to my family." He choked on the last sentence, overwhelmed with relief. "I'm glad to see that you won," he told them shakily with a smile, "I'm glad to see you got back what you lost, and now I can too."

~*~

**Ta-daaaa! See? I did have a logical explanation. I actually looked a few things up and they didn't exactly have the most advanced technology back then, so they most likely would have assumed that it was Hughes. Also, by now you should know that this story not only takes place in the mangaverse, but it's POST-manga! **

**Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Home for the Holidays! **


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